Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Are colonoscopies worth it?

asteriskmag.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

101–110 of 296 posts

Re: Are colonoscopies worth it?

#101

Post by kashunstva »

Expez wrote: post #85

The article doesn't cover this, but it's worth pointing out why the study asks this particular question. With a single-payer system the Nordic countries want to know what the ROI is if we sent letters out to everyone above a certain age offering a free colonoscopy. The study is well-designed to answer that question. The study does a poor job of helping an individual asking a similar but different question: Is it wort…

The intention-to-screen design of the trial depends heavily on the effectiveness of recruitment and the pre-existing “prevalence” of the test in the setting in which the study is conducted. I can see rejecting an unpleasant, rarely used screening test. But if it were presented in a less impersonal (but still unbiased) way, I imagine recruitment would have been higher, skewing the data towards cost-effectiveness, as re-analyses showed.

Re: Are colonoscopies worth it?

#102

Post by ttymck »

abigail95 wrote: post #24

I don't know any gastroenterologist over 40 that hasn't had one (Australia). Do I take the government advice or copy what the doctors themselves are doing?

Where is the government advice sourced from? Why are you so confident in anecdotal evidence but skeptical of broader research?

Re: Are colonoscopies worth it?

#105

Post by kqr2 »

s1artibartfast wrote: post #92

People struggle with binaries. It is very likely that regular colonoscopies are net harmful for most people, and very beneficial for some. The population isnt homogeneous. Some people have significant risk factors, like family history, others do not. We don't ask if everyone should start wearing glasses at 40, so why this?

But people with healthcare / vision care usually have their eyes checked yearly.

Re: Are colonoscopies worth it?

#106

Post by surfsvammel »

I do regular colonoscopies because of a condition. People are worried about the procedure, as I was my first times. Here are some things that I wish someone had told me:

- Taking the meds for cleaning out your system the day before is far worse than the procedure itself.

- Have a lollipop to stick in your mouth after Each time you take a shot of the laxatives. It helps with the vile taste of it.

- If you need relaxing meds or something for the pain and discomfort, they have good stuff handy when doing the procedure.

- It only ever hurts if your colon are in bad shape. Colonoscopy doesn’t hurt if you are healthy (and even if it does, they have meds for the pain).

- Don’t be embarrassed, the hospital staff do this all the time. They don’t really care about the things you are worried that they might care about.

- Wear loose fitting clothes that are easy to change in and out of when you go to the hospital.

- Try to relax.

Re: Are colonoscopies worth it?

#107

Post by IshKebab »

nwellinghoff wrote: post #19
joshuaheard wrote: post #16

My doctor recommended Cologuard, a test of your stool sample for cancerous DNA, instead of a colonoscopy. I can't imagine taking a colonoscopy now.

Colonoscopy has a big advantage in that they are already in there. If they see anything forming that is pre-cancerous they can take it out before it turns into a problem that would show up on a Cologuard test.

*small advantage (according to this study).

Re: Are colonoscopies worth it?

#108

Post by danw1979 »

surfsvammel wrote: post #106

I do regular colonoscopies because of a condition. People are worried about the procedure, as I was my first times. Here are some things that I wish someone had told me: - Taking the meds for cleaning out your system the day before is far worse than the procedure itself. - Have a lollipop to stick in your mouth after Each time you take a shot of the laxatives. It helps with the vile taste of it. - If you need relaxin…

> It only ever hurts if your colon are in bad shape. Colonoscopy doesn’t hurt if you are healthy (and even if it does, they have meds for the pain).

I’m sure there will be a few people popping up to disagree with this and I think you kind of disagreed with yourself in that sentence anyway.

I got the all-clear in the end, and my guts are not in bad shape (don’t drink much, never smoked, eat healthy), and I’ve generally got a high pain threshold… but the procedure (only a flexi-sigmoidoscopy) hurt like hell and I wish I’d had some form of pain control beforehand.

Re: Are colonoscopies worth it?

#109

Post by vladvasiliu »

conductr wrote: post #95
rocqua wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Red blood consistently still deserves to be checked out.

I had a misdiagnosed anal fissure for a year. Get the ass doctor involved early, my GP was clueless about it and had me trying hemorrhoid/lidocaine creams for a year while in agonizing pain. The first thing the ass doctor asked was; do you know what a fissure is? before the exam even started. I learned to skip past the general doctors to the specialist from this experience. Also, the anus is the fulcrum of your body,…

> I learned to skip past the general doctors to the specialist from this experience.

What concerns is that where I live, it's my understanding that, with a few exceptions [0], you can't skip a GP and go directly to a specialist. And I'm not convinced that GPs here are any better than in the US or elsewhere. Bonus points for large parts of the country not even having enough GPs for their population.

---

[0] You can go see an eye doctor or a dentist without seeing a GP first.

Re: Are colonoscopies worth it?

#110

Post by spondylosaurus »

antoniuschan99 wrote: post #78
sillysaurusx wrote: post #58

It’s time to share something personal again. When I was 20, I vividly remember being in the bathroom at my workplace when a large amount of blood started coming out. I did what any smart, effective 20yo would do: ignored it because I was embarrassed. Fast forward 10 years, and I’d been ignoring it for a decade. It had continued to happen every few months. Sometimes the blood was so bad I’d have to wait up to 20 minut…

It’s also good know that if you’re seeing bright red blood then it’s a higher chance it’s hemorrhoids whereas dark red you definitely should get it checked because it’s coming from inside your colon. Also there’s supposedly a poop test called fecal occult blood test that has a high rate of detecting colorectal cancer that you do over the course of 3 years. I saw this on nhk Doctor's Insight: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nh…

Bright red blood can also be a sign of inflammation/bleeding in the low low colon, e.g., proctitis. (Ask me how I know, lol.)

As a rule of thumb, the farther the blood has to travel, the darker it'll be. Blood from high up enough in your GI tract will be a black, tarry substance, NOT red, but it's absolutely blood and you need to get that checked out ASAP.

Post reply on HN